Intra-day update: rupee inches upward against US dollar

The Pakistani rupee improved against the US dollar, appreciating 0.06% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10am, the currency was hovering at 281.23, a gain of Re0.18 against the greenback. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 281.41. Internationally, the US dollar held on to steep gains on Friday after better-than-forecast US data dampened expectations for further easing by the Federal Reserve this year. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against major peers, climbed 0.6% in the previous session after figures on US economic growth, unemployment claims, durable goods, and wholesale inventories all beat expectations. The yen traded at an eight-week low following a new raft of tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. Attention now turns to Friday’s release of US consumer spending data for signals of how urgently the economy needs additional stimulus from the Fed.